Phonon modes at finite temperature in graphene and single-walled carbon nanotubes

Abstract

The phonon modes at finite temperature in graphene and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) are investigated by the mode projection technique combined with molecular dynamics simulation. It is found that the quadratic phonon spectrum of the flexural mode in graphene is renormalized into linear at finite temperature by the phonon-phonon scattering. Possible influence of this renormalization on the electron-phonon interaction and phonon thermal transport is analyzed. For the SWCNT, however the quadratic property of the phonon spectrum for the flexural mode can survive at finite temperature under protection of the two-fold degeneracy of the flexural mode in SWCNT due to its quasi-one-dimensional structure. The frequency and life time of optical phonon modes are also studied at different temperatures. In particular, the life time of the in-plane optical phonons in graphene and the axial optical phonon in SWCNT can be described by an uniform formula $\tau (T)=560/T$, which coincides with the experimental results.